How to host a 7 Days to Die dedicated server

The best way to enjoy a shared online adventure in Navezgane is with your own “7 Days to Die” server. It’s simple to download the dedicated server software through the command line client, SteamCMD. All you need is the right hardware.

The zombie sandbox RPG “7 Days to Die” has been in the Early Access phase since 2013, but the developer team known as “The Fun Pimps” regularly provides new content, bug fixes, and other improvements. If you want to fight the zombies as a group, we recommend hosting your own “7 Days to Die” dedicated server for a better performance. We’ll explain in the following sections what hardware you need for this, and the server application’s installation and setup.

“7 Days to Die” has a built-in feature for hosting multiplayer adventures over the Internet. These game sessions, which can be private or public, run directly on your device. This is advantageous as you don’t have to buy or rent additional hardware. However, this option is only recommended if you want to play the game with a group of people. Also, it is worth noting that the server only runs when you are running the session. As soon as you shut down your device or quit 7 Days to Die, the server will be offline for all players.

Players who are playing with four players or more should definitely consider the “7 Days to Die” dedicated server software and the dedicated hardware. This will enable you to offer a long term and stable gaming experience to users who have connected to the server. Another option is to rent the hardware from a provider, which means you won’t have to worry about security measures and maintenance. You’ll also benefit from the provider’s excellent Internet connection, which is significantly stronger than connections available in private households.

There is no official information from the developers regarding the hardware requirements for hosting the “7 Days to Die” dedicated server software. Therefore, the values provided below are based on empirical values. The requirements are more or less the same as other multiplayer games. The CPU and RAM should be planned around the size of game world and the number of players. The same should be considered when using different mods.

The following hardware is recommended starting out:

• Processor (CPU): AMD or Intel (2 cores) from 2.4 gigahertz for 1-4 players; 3 gigahertz for 5-16 players
• RAM: 3-4 gigabytes for 2-4 players; 8 gigabytes for 5-16 players
• Hard disk space: 12 gigabytes; additional space for saving games and installed mods

As well as the computing power, resources for the respective operating system (Linux or Windows) must also be taken into consideration for the “7 Days to Die” server application. For example, the following additional power would be required for the 2019 Windows server:

• 1.4 GHz processor (64-bit)
• 512 MB or 2 GB RAM (without or with graphical user interface respectively)
• 32 or 36 GB hard disk space (without or with graphical user interface respectively)

You can rent hardware for the “7 Days to Die” dedicated server software from several providers. Typically, you’ll have different performance plans and different types of servers to choose from. However, this amount of variety may be difficult for beginners to find a suitable plan which offers the right amount of performance.

You can choose between the following three server models with IONOS, each of which has multiple plans:

• Cloud Server: Cloud Server from IONOS grants you access to a virtualized server environment which can be conveniently scaled and adjusted to meet situational needs. It is billed by the minute, so you only pay for what you actually use.
• vServer: vServer, or also known as Virtual Private Servers (VPS), are based on virtualized hardware. However, monthly fixed costs apply.
• Dedicated Server: IONOS provides you with dedicated enterprise hardware with high single-core computing power.

Do you want to play “7 Days to Die” on your own server with one or two friends, but you’re not sure when and how often you’ll actually get to play? IONOS has the perfect solution for this with the Cloud Server model. Consider a low-cost plan and only pay for your server when it’s actually running thanks to minute-by-minute billing.

The most reasonably priced plan with suitable computing power: Cloud Server L.

Should your server run around the clock? And have a large game world with different mods? Maybe you also want to exceed the unofficial player limit of 16 players per server or run multiple servers in parallel?

We have considered five possible scenarios for your “7 Days to Die” server and suggested the most suitable IONOS servers.

It’s simple to put your plans into action for a “7 Days to Die” server once you have the right hardware. All you need is a suitable operating system. There is a large choice available, from the classic Linux and Windows server systems such as Ubuntu, Debian, or Windows Server, to the Steam command line client, SteamCMD.

We will show you the setup process in the following tutorial with examples from IONOS customers (vServer, Cloud Server, Dedicated Server). Windows Server 2019 is the operating system used.

Run the file called “Remote Desktop connection” and click “Connect” in the following section. Enter the login data for your server. You will also find your login data in Features (User and Initial Password) in case you would like to change it.

You can get the “7 Days to Die” dedicated server application from SteamCMD. This tool is a command line version of the Steam client which allows you to connect with the server’s game platform servers quickly. You can download the installation package (in this case for Windows) using this download link.

You can then connect to the Steam servers to download the dedicated server application with the Steam input line. First, you have to log in. Logging in as an anonymous user is sufficient for “7 Days to Die”:

Create the installation folder for the server in the next step:

Finally, download the application with the following command:

Exit the command line application with the “quit” command once the download and installation are complete.